Water conservation will be an important topic once again at ProGreen EXPO 2017. Landscape company owners and employees can benefit from a variety of sessions about irrigation, drought, and conservation.

This fall, the National Association of Landscape Professionals named the recipients of its Safety Recognition Awards. Two ALCC members—Swingle Lawn, Tree & Landscape, and Timberline Landscaping, Inc.—were among those honored. Two other Colorado-based companies—KIRA, Inc. and Lupine Lawn Care—were also recognized.

Last week, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently released a Small Entity Compliance Guide for Construction for the Respirable Crystalline Silica Standard. According to OSHA, “the guide is intended to help small business employers comply with the rule by explaining each requirement in easy-to-understand language.”

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has published a revised version of Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification. The changes are designed to reduce errors and enhance form completion using a computer.

By Jan. 22, 2017, employers must use only the new version, dated 11/14/2016. Until then, they can continue to use the version dated 03/08/2013 or the new version. 

PlantTalk Colorado discusses the threat of Japanese beetles and how to curb their destructive ways.

Last week, OSHA issued a guide for small businesses regarding the final rule for silica dust exposure.

We are pleased to inform you that OSHA’s Small Entity Compliance Guide for Construction is now available. The guide is intended to help small business employers comply with the rule by explaining each requirement in easy-to-understand language. Enforcement of the final rule in construction is due to begin June 23, 2017.

A separate compliance guide for General Industry and Maritime will be available soon. Enforcement for general industry and maritime is due to begin on June 23, 2018.

For full details, visit www.osha.gov/silica/. 

Previously on the LAB:

OSHA final rule aims to curb silicosis

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ALCC/GreenCO lobbyists have issued a "2016 Post Election Review and Analysis" on issues related to the green industry in Colorado. You can view the report here . 

UPDATE: An updated report was added at 11:06AM on 11/10/2016.

For updates on this issue, subscribe to the LAB or visit https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central.

With the current labor shortage in the landscape industry, the slow but steady progress of the Landscape Career Pathway Program may seem frustrating. Waiting for graduates enter the industry may seem like forever. But when you consider the efforts that it took to reach this point in the process—where we might see graduates in the workforce as soon as next spring—it’s clear that the program has made considerable progress in less than two years.

When parents think of hoped-for professions for their college-bound kids, working in the landscape industry is rarely on the preferred list with surgeon, attorney, accountant, engineer or IT wizard. So it’s no surprise when Zach Johnson—professor in CSU’s Environmental Horticulture, Landscape Design nd Contracting program—meets with parents of prospective students, he has an uphill climb.  But telling them some of his grads are earning six-figure incomes does get their attention.